Claw
by Starkreactor
Summary: Claw, a predator of my own design, finds a new home and enemy after his home planet is overrun and his species is destroyed by an alien invasion. Hey, for everyone who had read, THANKS SOO MUCH!
1. Beginnings

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor did I invent the Aliens or Predators, though I wish I did. Claw, Dianara, Galen, Khan, ect. are mine. Reviews are worshiped, flames will be used to clean new trophies. Thanks and enjoy!

"His name is Claw. He is the newest member of the clan and his coming of age hunt is due. He has been fully equipped and endured the bonding ceremony honorably. His last test is now due, do you deem him satisfactory?"

Claw stood in the center of a council of elders, baring his head proudly, knowing that fear does not exist in the heart of a predator. His training master, Wolf, stood, presenting him to the council. The last thing standing in the way of him and his first hunt was their approval. He had been trained as long as his memory went back, and if he passed this last test of skill, he would be deemed a predator and would be allowed to hunt on his own. They studied him intently for a time, looking him over to see that he was properly equipped, but more so that his physical build attested to his endurance. The fact that he had already endured the bonding process of not one, but two sets of blades, one on each arm without showing a single sign of pain surely would help him to earn the elders approval. The leader of the clan stood, a large, veteran hunter that had been to more worlds than any of the others had even seen. His trophy room was filled with skulls from the most dangerous creatures that were known to their kind, Including the crest of a fully grown xzenomorph female.

"The council approves, he may go." Now his real test began.

The moment Claw was given the councils approval, Wolf pressed a button he was near and Claw felt himself get transported to the planet below. He had received training in combat and physical conditioning, but had received little insight on what was on the planet where his first hunt was to take place. This was part of the challenge, he was equipped with certain weapons and tools, but he had to figure out the lay of the land, and what will be useful. Once he had been beamed down, he fitted his helmet into place and looked around. He was in the center of a place with many, many colorful plants. He could hear countless animals moving through the brush and the air was pleasantly warm and steamy. At first the waves of warm air made his natural infrared vision clouded and confusing, but once he had his mask in place he was able to set it to a less confusing vision mode.

He knew that the first thing to do was to find and study his prey, watching its habits and learn about the native creatures and land. That meant that he would be in camouflage for the first few days. He activated his camouflage and set off, mostly staying in the trees as he knew that the xzenomorphs preferred to stay on the ground. He also spent most of the daylight hours studying the terrain and creatures that were native, determining which were a threat and which were not. The night hours were used for looking for his pre determined prey, as the xzenomorphs preferred the dark, wet areas. By the third day of his search he spotted several face huggers clinging to sheltered rocks near a waterfall, waiting for night fall to look for a host. By the fourth day, he spotted several young xzenomorphs in the jungle, hunting and eating by night and hiding by day. He stayed in the trees, observing the creatures of the forest, and by the fifth day he had a good understanding of the dangerous and benign species, and knew the terrain almost as well as his home planet. He had eaten only once in that time, due to the fact that he was expending little energy in his observation mode, though he covered several miles worth of the forest each day. By the sixth day he decided that he had studied his prey long enough, he would eat and sleep during that day, but that night, he would begin the hunt in earnest.

The night he determined to finally attack his prey came swiftly, and he was already on the move by sundown. He followed the signs he had learned to spot that showed where his prey would be, a special mode of vision set on his helmet as xzenomorphs were completely cold and didn't give off a heat signature. He found the usual signs along his tracking, mangled carcasses, strange slashing marks on trees and plants and the distinctive saliva that glowed blue under his xzenomorph vision.

After tracking his prey for an hour, he found two xzenomorphs drinking out of a stream that ran under several palm trees and large ferns. He activated his camouflage and crept down from the tree he was in, looking carefully at the xzenomorphs behavior to see if they heard him. The two finished their drink and were about to run off into the brush when he attacked the larger one with his now extended wrist blades. He had leapt on top of the alien, one foot on it's spine, the other under its neck, the surprised creature hissed, throwing glowing saliva onto Claw's face mask as it whipped its head to face him. His camouflage had deactivated when he had attacked, so the creatures companion quickly joined the brawl, lashing its barbed tail at Claw's neck. Claw was able to doge the attack, but it forced him to jump from his enemy's back. The two turned quickly to face him, lashing their tails as they leapt to try and pin him to the ground. He again jumped out of their way, but one cut a deep gash into his back with its tail, spilling glowing green blood from the wound. As he turned to face them again, one climbed a tree, looking for an advantage, while the other continued to attack him on the ground. Claw had seen the other xzenomorph climb the tree but was too busy with the one on the ground to do any thing at the moment. The one facing him twisted its body, circling around him as he threw a bladed disc at its tail. Despite the speed with which the xzenomorph tried to dodge the attack, the blade sliced the barbed part of its tail, sending a spray of acidic blood toward Claw. The creature roared and hissed in fury, still flicking its wounded tail back and forth, leaving a trail of acid eaten plants. Claw jumped toward the enraged creature, blades bared. With a swift stroke, he delivered a double killing blow through the xzynomorphs head, and with a last roar and snap of its tongue, it fell to the ground. Claw quickly remembered the other xzenomorph and turned his head upwards in time to see it leap from it's tree towards him, its barbed tail aimed at his heart. He jumped to the left of the attack, its tail catching the armor on his shoulder. He sliced towards the tail as it flicked across his helmet, leaving four deep gashes in the right side of the metal. As it circled around for another attack, he aimed his blaster at it and dispatched it.

As is customary for a predator's first kill, he took off his helmet and picked up the barbed tail of the first xzenomorph that he had killed, marking a customary symbol on his left brow with its blood. He did the same to his helmet. Then, he took the skull from the same alien and proceeded to clean it in the river, washing away the acidic blood so that he could handle it safely. Once the blood was gone, he took a bleaching solution from his belt and bleached it clean, removing all but the bone from the skull. He would have to wait until the ship picked him up to finish cleaning the skull and polish it. As his first kill, he also took the very tip of the barbed tail and one of its foot claws, cleaning and polishing them carefully, then stringing them onto a piece of wire and onto his belt. He stood proudly, baring his head in victory toward the ship that was orbiting the planet, waiting for him to complete his task, or die trying.

Once he had finished dispatching the rest of the xzenomorphs on the planet with him, the ship landed to pick him up. The elders and Wolf came to receive him, and he was no longer treated with the scrutiny that he was before the hunt. On the trip back to the home planet he retold his tale with some of the other newly appointed predators, comparing his trophies with theirs. Once he got back, he went to his appointed trophy wall in the building that housed his clans trophy, mounting the skull in its place.

200 years later………….

Claw woke from his dream, surprised that he was awake at all. His battle with the many xzenomorphs that had over run his clan had wounded him mortally, leaving him, the leader as the only one left. A month ago the xzenomorphs had attacked the predators home planet in countless numbers, overrunning and killing everyone there. Claw's clan had been one of the few clans that were left in the final stand against the invasion, and every predator had fought to his last breath. Many had detonated their wrist bombs in their last moments, taking many of the aliens with them, but the numbers were far to great to overcome. Claw had received many slice and stab wounds, and nearly all of his armor was eaten away by xzenomorph blood. The last few members of his clan, believing him to be dead, had put him into a small ship and laid him in state, sending it away into space so that the aliens couldn't dishonor their leaders body. Now all he could do was lay there, waiting to die from his many wounds. He had no strength to try and heal himself with what little was left of his medical kit, or to put himself out of his own misery. He closed his eyes, breathing in gasps, feeling hot blood running down his face and into his mouth. He couldn't tell, but it felt like he was bleeding internally as well, though he had no strength to cough either. It wasn't much longer until he passed out, knowing that it wouldn't be long before the predators would be extinct.


	2. Saved

It wasn't much longer until Claw's ship landed on a planet that was very familiar. It's plants and animals were the first thing that he had learned to study, the place where he had made his first kill. Though he hadn't known the name of the planet, he was once again on Earth.

At the sight of his ship coming to the atmosphere, several natives looked up, seeing the fire ball descending through the jungle and into the thick underbrush. Once it had landed, one of the curious natives took a party of young men to check out the strange form that had crashed near their village. They found a monster inside. Its curved jaws had sharp fangs on the end and its body was covered in a green glowing substance. The creature had wrist gauntlets with jagged knives protruding and its fingers were tipped with claws. It was also much larger than any of the men, at least eight feet tall. One of the men proclaimed it to be a demon, another said that it was sent by the gods to punish the town. They raced back to the village, telling the town of their discovery. One of the priests grew ominous, and warned the people to stay away from the creature.

One of the native girls who had been told strictly to stay away from the wreck snuck out at night, the shock of the tale giving way to an overwhelming curiosity. She made her way through to the wreck, looking curiously into where the men had proclaimed the monster to be. She gasped as she saw that the creature was indeed a monster, but once she had gotten over her shock, she realized that it was hurt very badly, perhaps dead. She moved closer to the creature, and slowly got up the nerve to touch its face. Nothing happened as she withdrew her hand quickly. But when she looked closer she could see that the creature was barely breathing.

"He's still alive!" she thought, suddenly taking pity on the bloodied form. She knew that she couldn't move him on her own, so she ran back to the village, waking the only person left in her family, her father.

"What is it, what is wrong?" Her father said, looking worried.

"Father come with me please. The creature that the villagers found, it is hurt!"

Her father looked shocked. "You went out there by yourself, after the priest told the village to keep their distance?"

"Oh father," The girl looked at him pleadingly. "He is dying, please, you are the healer, and I can't move him out of the wreck without you. Beside, you never believed in the priest, please, at least come and see him."

Her father looked at her, knowing that if his daughter was this worried for the fabled creatures life then it must really need his help. "Very well, let me get my things and you can lead me to it." He said, gathering his herbs and pastes.

The girl made her way back through the brush, finding the wreck with little difficulty. She ran to the creature, anxiously checking to see if it was still alive. Her father followed, trying to keep up. Once he reached the place where she was kneeling, he looked over her shoulder to see what the creature looked like. He gasped in shock, wondering that his daughter didn't run at the sight. But when he saw his daughters anxious look, he swallowed his fear and helped her pull it from the wreck. They dragged Claw over to a small stream, and there the healer began his work. He took water and mixed it with several herbs, cleaning Claw's wounds with the mixture. While he was working his daughter found a mask that would fit closely over Claw's mouth in one of his pouches. She showed it to her father and he looked at it, recognizing it as a sort of breathing mask. He told her to fit it over his mouth, as it would probably aid his breathing. They did all they could to help him, then hid him in some underbrush. They planned it so that one of them could get away to check on him periodically, then made their way back to the village, washing their hands and arms in the stream to rid themselves of his blood.


	3. New Allies

Shortly after the healer and his daughter left, Claw woke up, still feeling very weak. He noticed that he had less trouble breathing and that he was no longer bleeding, at least externally. He was alert enough to see that he was no longer on the ship, but too weak to figure out where he actually was. He closed his eyes again, this time falling into a deep sleep.

Later the girl, who was named Dianara, was able to get away and check on Claw. She rushed to where he was hidden and pulled back the blanket that she was able to sneak out to him earlier. When she had found him he was very cold, but now he had warmed significantly and was breathing much easier. His wounds were beginning to close as well. Dianara was overjoyed to see him doing better and thought that maybe she should leave him some food in case he woke up. She didn't know what he ate, but she guessed by the way his mouth was formed that he ate meat. She didn't have time to hunt something for him, and if she took meat from the villages precious stores, they would know that she was up to something. She thought briefly and then remembered a small trap that her father had set earlier and went to check it.

There was a small monkey trapped inside, and she was able to take the meat fairly quickly. She wrapped it in a large leaf that would mask the scent from a tiger or some other creature and placed it near Claw's head. She then rushed back to the village, knowing that every second she stayed, she was in more danger of being discovered.

Claw woke up again after sleeping for several hours, and between the mixture of gasses and pain killers in his face mask and his rest, he was strong enough to move around some what. His wounds were no longer in danger of bleeding, and now he was strong enough to realize that he was hungry. He rolled onto his side and found the leaf wrapped case of meat that Dianara had left him. He ate it quickly, then edged to the stream for a drink.

He lowered his entire head into the cool water, drinking deeply and letting the water rinse the rest of the blood off of his face and neck. He saw that his acid eaten armor was laying near the tree that he had been hidden under, as well as what was left of his med kit. He went through it, but found nothing that would improve his condition. His battle scarred helm was back in the wreckage, but he didn't try to retrieve it right away. Once he had partially eased his hunger, he looked around, and despite his infrared vision, he recognized the planet as the same planet that he had first hunted on. He was glad that he knew that the xzenomorphs were not native to the planet, and knew very little if anything about it in the first place. He went back to the tree he had been under, and lay down, still fairly weak. But he didn't go back to sleep.

It was Galen's, Dianara's father's, turn to check on Claw, and he went with a few of his herbs and more meat in case he woke up. When he returned to where Claw was hidden, he saw him laying under his tree, but the air mask was off and he was awake.

Claw had heard Galen approach, and he turned his head to see who was coming. He could sense Galen's fear at knowing that he was awake, but he also saw the things that Galen was carrying and knew that he was the one who had helped him. Claw allowed him to approach, and Galen did, slowly, as if trying to communicate that he was not a threat. Galen, praying that he wouldn't get killed for helping this thing, moved slowly towards it. He watched it to see if it felt threatened, but it didn't seem to. Galen moved closer and laid the meat that he had been carrying in front of Claw, where he could easily reach it. Knowing that he was short on time, he was reluctant to try and add more of his healing paste to Claw's wounds, but he knew that he had to try. He pointed at the paste and then at a large gash on Claw's arm, not sure if the creature was even intelligent enough to understand.

Claw sat up and nodded once, signaling that he would let Galen work on him. Galen moved forward and began to apply the paste in each of Claw's wounds. He worked quickly, but he noticed that Claw didn't move once the entire time he worked. He just sat still as stone and let him work. Once Galen had finished, Claw sat back against the tree, bringing the meat with him. Galen left just as Claw began to eat the food he had brought


	4. A new hunt

Once Claw had finished, he went through the wreckage of his ship, looking for his helmet. Once he found it, he took it to the river and cleaned it in the cool water, washing away the blood and dirt from the fight he had barely escaped with his life. Once it was clean, he set it with the rest of his armor under the tree he had spent so much time under.

He climbed the tree, looking out to see where the people that kept visiting were coming from, and he saw a small village about a mile east from where he was. He knew that he would be living on this planet for the rest of his life, as his ship was destroyed and the rest of his kind was wiped out. He began thinking about where he would stay, and he concluded that he probably wouldn't go far from the forest as far as a place to live went, the temperature suited his normal 120 degree body heat, and there were many creatures to hunt here for food and otherwise.

By the time he came out of the tree the sun was beginning to set, and he was once again exhausted. He would probably be weak for several days until his body could replace what he had lost. In the mean time, he would need to eat and rest.

Dianara returned to check on Claw with more meat and paste, knowing that he was awake from her father. She approached him like her father had, though a little less afraid, and Claw allowed her to, knowing that she had helped him as well.

She set the meat in front of him and he allowed her to put the soothing paste on his wounds. Once she was done she left quickly, and he lay down to sleep for the night. In the morning, Dianara came with more meat and paste to check on him, and it became a regular routine for the next week. Between the care and rest Claw was getting, he recovered remarkably fast, his wounds closing rapidly and his strength coming back. At the end of the week he no longer needed the paste and he was hunting for food on his own.

Dianara still came to visit him periodically, but she only came to see how he was, he no longer needed her care. During his days in the forest he began to look for a good place to build a sort of home. Claw found a large tree, one that villagers couldn't climb, but he could. He began to take the branches and other plant materials and wove them together, forming a large room in the tree's canopy. It shielded him from wind and rain and provided a place to keep any new trophies that he may get from this strange world. He had already begun studying the creatures that prowled his new home, and had picked a target by the time he was ready to hunt. His target was a large Bengal tiger, a male that he had been watching for quite some time. It was as long as he was tall, and he had seen the way it hunted for its food. It would be a good start.

Claw set out on his hunt the night that marked his one month anniversary of being in the forest. Dianara still came to visit him, but she was the only one that he allowed to know of where his tree was. She had not been in it, but he would see her standing at the base, looking for a sign of him. Then she would run back to the village before her absence could be discovered.

The night of his hunt was the first time he wore his helmet again since the battle on his home planet. He would have worn his armor too, but all but the upper leg peices were unusable from the corrosion. Once he had fitted his helmet into place, Claw leapt from a branch in his tree, landing silently in another ten feet away. He continued to move through the trees in a series of jumps and climbing maneuvers, making his way through the forest to the watering hole where the tiger always started his nightly prowl.

He found the animal as usual, lapping from the moonlit pool before setting out to hunt for food. Claw activated his camouflage and climbed down from the tree as quietly as possible. He knew that the tiger had a very keen sense of hearing, so he had to be silent as he climbed down. Once he reached the ground, he crept forward, waiting until the last moment to spring his spear. The tiger suddenly jerked his head out of the pool, looking with glowing eyes toward Claw, unable to see him, but still being able to smell him. Claw knew that if he didn't attack now the tiger would bound away, resulting in a chasing hunt. He leapt for the animal, blowing his cover as he deactivated his camouflage at the same time. The tiger met him in mid leap, bowling them both to the ground with Claw underneath. His spear was of little use in that close of a situation, so Claw used one gauntlet to block the tigers attacks, extending the blades on the other for use. During the animals frenzied attacks Claw was able to get his feet under it's stomach, pushing hard to through the tiger a few feet away. As the animal made its rebound, Claw twisted himself around, grabbing his spear and jumping to his feet. The tiger made its way in a running jump toward him, and Claw met it with his spear, driving it through the animals tough hide. It fell dead at his feet.

Once Claw finished cleaning the skull in the tigers own drinking pool, he took his knife and removed one of the tiger's front claws, cleaning and polishing it in the pool as well. He took his trophy back to the tree, hanging it on one of the walls that had a lot of strong branches protruding part way from it. The claw he strung on the wire that held the xzenomorph tail spike and talon that he had gotten years ago.


	5. Suspisions

Two weeks after Claw's hunt with the tiger, the village began buzzing about how their food had not been stolen in weeks, and children were less afraid to go out. No one had seen the tiger that had been so feared in several days, and one man claimed to have found what was left of a huge tiger carcass, laying by the pool where it had been spotted so often. Despite their joy at not having to worry about the animal, many villagers began to fear what could have killed a beast that had defeated four groups of hunting parties.

Some began to remember the creature that was spotted over a month ago, and proclaimed that this was the creatures warning to them, by showing them what it could do. Dianara had gone to check on Claw only a few days ago, and had seen the cleaned skull in his tree. She knew that if the villagers let the whole thing go to their head, and if the priest decided he didn't like having such a creature around, Claw, or the village, would be in danger. She decided that she should stop going into the forest to check on him so often, at least until the village calmed down. Besides, he was obviously getting along fine on his own.

The village did not calm down however. Soon, a wild boar that had been seen regularly was missing, as was a large black panther. Dianara slipped away once during this time to see if Claw was the culprit, and sure enough the boar and panther skulls had joined the tiger on his wall. Just before she left to go back to the village, she saw Claw return to his tree, with a small deer thrown over his shoulder, the panthers glossy coat draped across his dark shoulders like a cape. Despite the fact that Claw was ridding the forest of many creatures that the villagers had feared, they only grew more paranoid, fearing the creature that could kill all of the others. Dianara stayed away from Claw, hoping that the paranoia would die down. But as more and more creatures were discovered missing, the paranoia only grew worse.

One night the head of the village, the priest, called a meeting, saying that the matter was most urgent. The entire village gathered in the center of town, around the priest who was standing on a carved rock that was covered in moss and gold, the only wealth that belonged to the village. He stood tall, his leopard skin thrown over one shoulder and the gold necklace fastened around his throat glittering in the fire light. The entire village waited in anticipation, knowing what he was going to speak about, but not wanting to admit it.

"I have called all of you here on an important issue. You are all aware that the many creatures that we have feared are no longer seen. This may appear to be a blessing from the gods, this is not so! I can call personal witness among you to proclaim what we have seen, the mangled bodies of the creatures we feared, the heads missing. The creature that plagued our land by touching it only a month ago, is making its mark. It has been shown to me by the gods that what may be seen as a blessing is a most terrible curse that has been sent upon us. The creature is starting with the creatures that we have failed to kill, showing us how little time we have. Once it is finished with the creatures of the forest it will come for the men, then the women, then the children, until we will be nothing but mangled corpses. We cannot allow it, and the gods are with us! We must rally the men and go after this demon if we are to survive."

Dianara stood with her father, clinging to his stone silent form, feeling her heart racing. She felt sick, and her breathing was frantic.

"No." she thought, "No, they can't, he isn't bothering anyone, the village has never done better." She pleaded to her father, growing more frantic, knowing that he would be forced to go after the creature along with all of the other men.

Dianara knew that one of them would die, either the village, or the creature. Her father only looked at her and shook his head, walking back to the hut that they shared.

Claw had been watching. He saw that the meeting had been called, and hid himself in a tree on the outside of the clearing that the village was built in. He had been around the villagers enough to understand their language, and knew what they were planning. But he was far from leaving. This would be the greatest hunt that he had had so far. Claw originally was not going to bother the village, there was no need to, and two of its members had saved his life, but if they were going to hunt him he was not going to refrain.

The villagers spent the night preparing to hunt the Sarcon, or terrible demon the next day. The priest, Khan, blessed amulets and weapons, promising that the villagers gods were with them. He went among the villagers, whipping their anger into a frenzy, making them believe that they were invincible, and on a holy quest to protect their lives, gods, and families.

Galen and Dianara spent the night trying to stay out of the villagers frenzy as much as possible. They wondered how Galen was going to get out of following Khan's orders, as their priest was considered to be half deity. Galen and Dianara never believed that this man was half god, or that he even communicated with the gods, but if they ever showed a sign of unbelief, they would be ceremonially executed. They couldn't leave either, the clan was forbidden to stray from the village to a certain distance and time span. Galen knew that all Khan was, was a dictator, the people nothing but puppets out of fear and false faith. The only reason that he had led the anger against the so called Sarcon, was because he was afraid of the creature that he could not control or understand. Dianara and Galen's only option was to warn Claw of the mob, and then try and run to get away from the village while the chaos of the mob kept Khan busy.

Galen covered Dianara's escape into the forest, promising that he would follow her as soon as he could. Dianara ran into the jungle, the leaves whipping her face and arms, and roots from jungle trees threatening to trip her. The thick canopy of trees blocked the moonlight so she was running in complete darkness. The trail that she followed needed no light however, she had used it many times to find Claw's tree. Her wild tear through the brush brought her to the base of his tree in little time at all and she looked up franticly, praying that he would be there.

He was. Claw was sitting on a large branch in front of his hut, almost as if he had been expecting her to come. He had one of his wrist blades extended and he was holding a sharpening device in the other hand, his spear was lashed to his back, and his helmet was in place, the panthers glossy coat slung over one shoulder like a partial cape. He turned his head toward her, the black lenses on his helmet glowing eerily in the thin stream of moonlight that penetrated the trees. Dianara knew that he was going to fight, he already knew what the villagers were up to. And he was preparing, just like the rest of the town.

Claw jumped from his tree, landing gracefully in front of Dianara, his muscular form cloaked in shadow, barely visible. He looked down at her, seeming solid, and strong compared to her frail frame. She remembered how weak he was when she had found him, barely alive. He remembered too, and he took a small knife from his belt, laying it in her hands.

She knew what the gesture meant, he was thanking her for his life, in the form that a warrior did. The weapon was around six inches long, its double blade silver. The handle was a blue and gold wrought metal, and the blade had a single blue stone near the hilt. Dianara took the weapon and tucked it in her belt, the glossy blade slipping easily under the cloth bound around her waist. Claw turned from her and climbed back up the tree, turning at the top to lower a thick vine for her to grab on to. She grabbed hold and he pulled her up, setting her just outside his woven shelter.

Dianara looked around, realizing that his tree rose a little way above the rest of the canopy, making the view breath taking. Claw guided her out onto a branch, stepping out of complete shadow and into a silver glow of moonlight. The trees no longer hindered their view, and she could see for miles, a beautiful stream flowing like liquid silver through the landscape. Dianara was lost in the view until she felt Claw's hand on her shoulder. She turned toward him and saw that he was looking at her, as if he wanted her attention. When she responded, Claw looked out in a direction north west of the tree, pointing with his other hand in the same direction.

"You must go before morning." Claw said, his voice softly spoken but deep, and rough.

Dianara looked up at him, realizing that he had understood far more than she or her father had known. And he was pointing a way for her to go and be safe from the wrath of her village and the wrath of Khan. Another warriors gesture. He was ensuring that she would be safe in return for the debt he owed her of his life. But it was more than that, he was truly grateful.

She nodded to tell him that she understood. He turned around and led her back to the place he had first helped her up, lowering her down on the same vine. Galen ran up to his daughter just as her feet touched the ground. He saw Claw's silhouette standing sentry in front of the hut, waiting for them to go. Dianara took her fathers hand, leading him away in the direction that Claw had pointed her in, promising her stricken father that she would explain. Claw watched them go, then turned his attention to the village, a red glow in the middle of a darkening forest.


	6. Khan's secret

The village continued their preparation, growing more and more under the priest's control as the night went on. Before sunrise even colored the sky gray, the entire village was split into hunting parties, their shouts and torches marking the places that they were searching.

Claw went out to meet them. He raced through the trees, his agile form cloaked in darkness, his camouflage unneeded. The first group of villagers that he encountered were armed with blow darts, spears, and swords. Many had their faces painted, and a few wore headdresses and amulets. Claw dropped to a branch low enough above their heads so that he could see them well, breaking branches on purpose on his way down to gain their attention.

The entire group heard him and looked up in unison, their eyes burning with a supernatural glow. They sounded their cry, a demonic voice rising from their throats, "SARCON!SARCON KHAN!" The other hunting parties heard the cry and ran to aid them. The group then began making a circle around Claw's perch, testing him with their torches, and watching him for a move.

Claw did little, waiting for his prey to make the first move, for prey they had become. At the group leaders command, they hurled poisoned spears at him, attempting to flush him out into an area where they would have the advantage. They also hoped to weaken him with the poison, but a spear point never touched him. Claw lept from his branch, brandishing both sets of knives. He landed in the middle of the fray, villagers thrusting and jabbing at him with their spears, daggers and swords, treating him like any other hunt.

Claw was far too experienced however. The form that the villagers were in made it so that he was surrounded by them with limited maneuvering space, but there were so many that they had a hard time reaching him. They moved as a mob not as a hunter, the anger that the priest had whipped into them had turned otherwise skilled hunters into mindless killers, with little defense against strategy. Claw cut his way through the mass easily, receiving cuts and scratches here and there, but the mob was doing more harm to themselves than to him. When the rest of the hunting parties arrived to try and help, Claw was done, the carnage left behind a warning to the rest of the village. Claw had taken no trophies as the party was not his real target. He moved his way toward the center of the village where Khan stood, waiting for the village to return with the Sarcon's head.

Claw approached the priest boldly, without stealth or camouflage to shield him. Khan turned to meet him, his eyes glowing red, as though they were consumed by embers. As the priest turned to face Claw directly, he made a gesture with his hands, forming great black wings on his back by forming the smoke from several fires that burned around the village. His feet grew into scaled talons, and his body became covered with red scales, rimmed with gold and black. Horns grew out of the long black hair that now formed spines along the rim of his back, and his wings solidified into great bat wings. Khan stood with his challenging eyes, burning into Claw's memory.

Claw crouched, letting his opponent make the first few moves. He knew nothing about this hunt, so it was a much greater challenge. If he waited and dodged the first few attacks, he could see what his opponent was like.

Khan took the chance, advancing on Claw with a full on attack, lashing his newly formed tail from side to side, challenging Claw to fight back. Khan first attempted to strike with the talons on his fingers, but Claw dodged it, moving to release his spear at the same time. Khan grabbed Claw's arm with his tail, stopping him from releasing the weapon. Claw reacted fast, cutting a deep gash in Khan's tail just as he went for his other arm. Khan reacted by throwing Claw behind him, giving him much needed time to release his spear. In the split second Khan's back was turned to him, Claw charged him with the spear, managing a deep shoulder wound. When Khan turned around, Claw went with him, the spear still stuck fast in his shoulder. Claw used the grip to spin around, landing with a foot on either side of Khan's head. The monster roared, launching several feet in the air, spreading black wings that covered what was left of the moon. Claw was thrown from his shoulders, and barely had time to grab one of the spines protruding from Khan's back before he would have fallen to the ground. Khan attempted to climb higher into the sky, but Claw's weight on his back was too much. As Khan sped for the ground, Claw extended both sets of knives, gripping Khan's back with his legs, and struck, raking deep wounds into his back and sides. Khan went blind from the pain, reeling and roaring in the air, twitching and rolling. When he was near the ground, Claw let go, flipping backwards to the rock in the center of the village, landing heavily. Khan, unable to control his flight, fell to the ground a moment later, his wings returning to smoke, and his talons to hands and feet. The priest rolled on to his back, drawing a shuddering breath, then going still. Claw bent over him, taking a dagger from Khan's belt. The blade was made of pure blood diamond, the hilt a shimmering jade. Claw slipped it into his belt, the body dissolving into mist and ash once the dagger left his side. On Claw's way back to his tree, the hunting parties scattered, their eyes nothing but those of frightened humans now.

Dianara and her father had followed Claw's instructed path, and found themselves with a village that received them well. When Dianara explained what they were running from, the village grew wary, but their chief stepped out, saying that they were turning no one away. Dianara and her father were given food and a hut to stay in. The chief came by to personally tell them that they would be accepted into the clan as members the next day. Dianara, happy as she was, never forgot Claw, and she stared out in the direction of her village the entire night. Just as dawn was breaking, Dianara heard a rustling in a tree close by her father's new hut. She looked up, a smile spreading her face as she saw the new light of the sun illuminate a figure crouched in the tree. Claw's helmet reflected the sun, making his eyes glow briefly in what was left of the darkness. Then he was gone.


End file.
